GUEST POST! Review! Stila Palettes - Dare to Bare -and- Not So Nude

Today's guest post is from Michelle, who came across a killer deal and messaged me to tell me about it!  I asked her if she would write up what she thought of them for a guest post, and lucky duckies, she did!  

I don't make it home to visit friends and family very often, but on this trip, I met my childhood friend, Mickie, and her family at Ulta so that she and I could do some shopping and bonding over makeup. We came across these Stila palettes on sale. Normally $20 each, they were on sale for $15 and came with a small sample tube of Stila mascara. The three palettes are Dare to Bare, Not So Nude, and The Natural. I picked up Dare to Bare, mostly because I gravitate towards the neutral browns for my everyday look and Mickie has been telling me I need a bronzer for awhile and that palette included one. I am totally new to bronzer. I liked this palette (and the price) so much I ended up going back for Not So Nude. (My friend liked hers so much, she went back for The Natural.)

Dare to Bare:

Dare to Bare swatched:

Not So Nude:

Not So Nude swatched:

The swatch photos were taken outside. As I said, I'm out of town and the lighting at my grandma's is pretty terrible. Some of the eyeshadow colors blend right in with my skin so they're really nice as base eyelid shades to even out the lid's color. The other, darker shades are very buildable, so you're able to go darker, if you prefer. I've been using the Dare to Bare colors over e.l.f.'s eyelid primer and they've held up well over the course of a hot Texas day. I imagine they'd be amazing over a higher quality primer like Urban Decay's potion. 

Here, I'm wearing Étude House's Precious Mineral BB Cream Bright Fit, which has SPF 30, important in the Texas sun. Over the e.l.f. eyelid primer, I'm using Dare to Bare's "au natural" all over the lid, "native" on the lid and into the crease, "earthly" in a line just above Mosha Katani's sormeh eyeliner in "charcoal brown" and just under the sormeh on the bottom lashes, too. There's just a bit of "double dare" on the lid, as well. (The palette says to apply these wet for a more intense look, but I used them dry.) I'm using the "wink" bronzer, "birthday suit" as a shimmer/highlighter, and "lily," from the Not So Nude palette, as a blush. The cream blush is intended to be used on the lips, as well, but it had too much shimmer for my tastes, for lips, at least, and I opted for lipstick instead. On my lashes is Dior's mascara because I had a sample I brought with me on our trip. On my lips is bareMinerals' marvelousMoxie lip liner in "exhilarated," and their lipstick in "Get Ready."

 
These are my first Stila products and I really love these palettes. I'm loving the colors enough that I would pay full price to replace them when I finish these. I know Sugarpot Beauty dislikes cardboard palettes and that's what these are (with a magnetic close) but, seeing as I'm on vacation right now, I think these are perfect for throwing into your toiletry bag to have some basic, essential colors with you that will achieve varied looks, without having to take along a whole lot of makeup. They're also great if you want to experiment with new looks or colors without breaking the bank. I'm enjoying my first Stila experience and look forward to trying more from this brand!